On Face the Nation today, one thing was abundantly clear: Mitt Romney not only doesn’t have a single idea to create jobs now and strengthen the middle class, but his contradictions with himself either show a fundamental misunderstanding of economic policy or an incredible lack of political courage.

He says he supports Bowles-Simpson, which closes tax loopholes and raises revenue, but refuses to detail a single tax loophole he’d have the courage to close. What's worse is that he promises deficit reduction but once again said he'd oppose a deficit reduction plan that includes $10 in spending cuts for every $1 of tax increases because he refuses to ensure the very wealthy pay their fair share. He credits the President for stabilizing the American financial system, but vows to repeal Wall Street reform and let big banks write their own rules again. And he says he doesn’t want to cut taxes for the wealthiest, but his plan calls for $5 trillion in tax cuts weighted towards the wealthiest Americans with no way to pay for them.

The reality is that Mitt Romney wants to bring back the same policies that crashed our economy, exploded our deficits, and devastated the middle class in the first place – he just doesn’t have the courage to say it. The American people are quickly concluding what independent economists already have -- that his economic policies wouldn't result in job creation or deficit reduction, and could make the economy worse.